Monterey girls face Midland for fifth time

George Watson

Wednesday

Feb 24, 2010 at 2:28 PM

Can the fifth time be the charm for the Monterey girls basketball team?

That is the task facing the Lady Plainsmen today as they prepare to square off against Midland for the fifth time this season. Today, however, is undoubtedly the most important as it comes in the regional quarterfinal of the Class 5A playoffs at Lamesa Middle School.

If Monterey can't figure out a way to break through the Lady Bulldogs' seemingly impenetrable hold, which has led to four Lady Plainsmen losses, then it won't just bring disappointment, it will bring about the end of its season. But head coach Jill Schneider knows anything can happen, especially with two teams as familiar as these.

"I've been around the game so long I know you don't get any carryover from other games from points or rebounds, other than how it mentally affects you," Schneider said. "With these kids, I think you have to be fearless. You can't go in feeling like you're going to get beat this time. We're going to go in and play hard and battle hard and see how it goes. You see games all the time where the worst team in the league beats the best team in the league, and a lot of times the team that's supposed to win wins. That's why you go and play the games."

When Midland and Monterey have played this year, however, the 2-5A champion Lady Bulldogs have come out on top each time.

The teams met in a pair of non-district tournaments, with Midland earning wins of 63-42 at the Allen Invitational and 60-43 at the Polk-Key City Classic in Abilene in early December. Three weeks later, Midland won by an identical 60-43 score at home in District 2-5A play, and six weeks after that had one of its better games of the season in a 65-36 win at the New Box.

"I thought Midland played great here, and even (Midland coach T.C. Willis) said that if they play that well it will be tough for anyone to beat them," Schneider said. "But we've played them four times and that hasn't been the team we played all four times. I haven't seen them play since them but if they play like that at the top of their game, then we're definitely going to have to be at the top of ours."

And that means coming up with a game plan that puts Monterey in the best position to neutralize Midland's athletic ability, much like the Lady Plainsmen (24-11) did in their 48-43 win Friday night against Arlington Bowie. Schneider said the emphasis will be on rebounding - utilizing the height of sister centers Haley and Kellyn Schneider - and preventing Midland (34-2) from dominating with its transition game.

"We're going to have to get our share of the boards, there's no ifs, ands or buts about it," Schneider said. "We have to dominate on the boards on both ends and not let them beat us. We have to play solid defense and not give up the easy transition baskets that athletic teams create, and we have to minimize our turnovers.

"Part of the improvement we have to make is execution on the part of our kids. We're going to make a couple of subtle changes in our game plan going in as coaches trying to make a difference, but it's important to try to give the kids something different that may help us, so we'll do that."

Class 1A showdown

As expected, the Class 1A Division I regional tournament is shaping up to be one that would rival any state tournament in recent history.

Heading into the regional quarterfinal round today, the eight teams still alive in Region I are all ranked in the last Texas Association of Basketball Coaches poll of Feb. 15, and seven of those are in the top 11.

In Canyon, No. 3 Anton (29-2) battles No. 5 Canadian (26-3) at the First United Bank Center. The Lady Bulldogs are led by the tandem of Kelsey Dutton and Stephanie Moore, both of whom average more than 15 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.

In Amarillo, No. 1 Wellington (28-1) takes on No. 4 Gruver (28-4) in a battle of district champions at the Tascosa Activity Center.

Lubbock's Rip Griffin Center will be the site of what could be a fierce doubleheader. In the first tame, No. 2 Sudan (28-5), the defending Division I state champion, takes on No. 11 Tahoka (28-5) at 6 p.m. Sudan boasts the area's second-leading scorer in senior guard/forward Lacee Logan, who averages 23 points, 10 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. Tahoka counters with standout forward Kyra Helm, who averages 19.6 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.

The nightcap at the Rip has No. 10 Smyer (30-3) taking on No. 23 Farwell. Smyer is led by the area's leading Class 1A scorer in forward Haley Fowler. Just a sophomore, Fowler averages 27.2 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.

The winners of the four games will meet this weekend at the Region I tournament in Levelland at South Plains College's Texan Dome, with the winner of the tournament nabbing a berth to the state tournament in Austin next week.

To comment on this story:

george.watson@lubbockonline.com l 766-2166

courtney.linehan@lubbockonline.com l 766-8735

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